Sarap at Home with Friends is now at its 4th season and the show promises more surprises and more easy to do recipes from San Marino and CDO Foodservice. The show is hosted by Sam Oh and will be joined by the young actress Jackie Rice, hunky model Fabio Ide and to bring comic relief to the show, Ramon Bautista joins the pack.

The new season will be formatted ala sitcom slash cooking show which will highlight sensational recipes that the viewers can re-create at their homes. With the additions of the new casts, twists and plots will surely be one of the things viewers should look forward to.

What’s totally new and unique at Sarap at Home Season 4 is the show’s support to viewers who are planning on starting up their own food businesses. CDO Foodservice will be sharing helpful tips on how to set up your own small food business so expect smart business solutions on starting up or running a small food business all throughout the season.

Here are sample recipes from Sarap at Home with friends and San Marino Tuna:

Everyone, get ready for the flavor filled episodes of Sarap at Home with friends. It is shown at GNTV11 3x a day from Monday to Sunday so no reason to miss it! Tell us what your favorite Sarap at Home with friends recipe or better yet invite us over at your homes to try your own San Marino recipe.

This has been your resident NomNom Club writer, Renz your Mommy foodie leaving you with a quote,” Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. “

For the whole second anniversary month of Marriott Hotel Manila this October 2011, Marriott Cafe is promoting their Lunch Buffet at 50% off until October 31!

Grilled Prawns

Feast on Marriott Café’s stuffed turkey, butter fried prawn on a bed of asparagus, blue marlin with tomato coulis, and Arabic chicken. All that even from appetizer, soup, salad, and dessert!

Together with some foodies, we got to try once more Marriott Cafe‘s international dishes last weekend.

I usually go around the buffet and pick only those that I liked. But this time around, I tried them by areas. 🙂

My first plate was Chinese-inspired with oriental dishes.

Oriental Dishes: (Japanese - left; Chinese - right)

The second plate was a Japanese special with maki, sushi, and one of my favorites – tempura, among others.

My third plate was from the Middle-East with beef skewers and grilled meat. 🙂

Middel Eastern & Western Plates (L-R)

The fourth plate has a western theme filled with steaks and some seafood.

Here are the other luscious photos I got during our lunch buffet at Marriott Cafe.

Salads

Steak

Marriott Cafe Dimsum

Chicken Dishes in various preparations

Roast Duck

Prawns prepared in a different away and served in singles

Desserts!

Marriot Cafe Desserts: Sweets, Cream Puffs, and Ice Cream!

Tiramisu Cream and Tarts!

Marriott Hotel's Marriott Cafe Buffet Lunch Promo

Visit Marriott Hotel and avail of this opportunity from October 1 to October 31, 2011 (Mondays-Saturdays) at the Marriott Cafe Lunch Buffet promo and get to enjoy a 5-star hotel dining experience with flowing ice tea at only half the price – P875 . 🙂

Do you have the passion in promoting Filipino Cuisine?
Are you a creative writer with a knack for food?
Are you on a search to discover the best Filipino dishes?
Do you believe na “masarap” maging Pinoy?
Are you game for the challenge of going to 10 Philippine destinations and 101 restaurants for a total of 30-day foodtrip and P25,000 cash prize in hand?

Sooo Pinoy Kare-Kare

If you say yes to all of the above, then you should join Sooo Pinoy‘s The ‘Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger!’ (This reminded me of BloggerManila.com’s Search for the Blogger Apprentice, lols)

What is the Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger?

“It is a nationwide search to help us find the best blogger who best embodies the Sooo Pinoy advocacy and will help best promote Filipino cuisine”, according to Unilever Food Solutions who hosted a launch dinner last night at Milky Way in Makati.

Sooo Pinoy

Sooo Pinoy is inviting all bloggers to join its Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger for chance to go on a once-in-a-lifetime food trip – an all-expense paid journey to ten beautiful Philippine destinations to dine in more than 101 different Filipino restaurants.

This is in line with their Sooo Pinoy advocacy to heighten appreciation and awareness for Pinoy food as Sooo Pinoy intends to tap the blogger community to promote Filipino cuisine.

Sooo Pinoy Advocacy

Criteria for Judging

• 50pts. Creativity – how good the story is told
• 40pts. Technical Writing Skills – grammar, technical structure, logical flow of paragraphs
• 10pts. Number of shares/follower engagement
• 100 points – TOTAL

Mechanics:

Composed of three rounds, the Search will not only measure the bloggers’ writing skills but their ability to engage readers as well. Each round is designed to test the bloggers’ creativity and passion for the advocacy. The winning blogger should be able to encourage Pinoys to discover our cultural identity through Filipino cuisine with articles that will leave readers hungry for more.

See detailed Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger Mechnics here.

Sooo Pinoy Food around the Philippines

How to Join

Bloggers must submit an entry for round 1, a blog article that explains why they deserve to be the Ultimate Food Blogger. All entries must be received before October 24. Entries will be judged according to creativity, quality of the write-up, and popularity among readers. Only those who pass the first round will continue to rounds 2 and 3 in the hope of becoming the Sooo Pinoy Ultimate Food Blogger. Those who want to join may visit www.facebook.com/SoooPinoy to see the detailed mechanics.

October 24 is the date to hold as this is the last day of submission for Round 1!

I Want To Join!

Adobo: one of Pinoy Food Signature Dishes

Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Food Blogger

Readers of my Adventure-Travel   blog LetsGoSago.net knows just how much I would love to participate in these type of challenges. However, due to my upcoming academic trip to Taiwan, I have a problem with the round 2 and round 3 dates if ever I qualify moving forward. I guess that’s good news for the rest of you guys! lols. 🙂

Sooo, what are you waiting for? Join the search for the Sooo Pinoy Ultimate Food Blogger! (I’ll just wait for the 2012 edition, if ever)

Last Tuesday at Society Lounge, Van Houten Philippines hosted a chocolate tasting affair for chocolate aficionados and several members of the media as hosted by food blogger celebrity Lori Baltazar of Dessert Comes First. Being a self-proclaimed chocoholic, I made sure that I am present for this special chocolate tasting event. 🙂

Ia Adam-Lim of NomNom Club w/ Van Houten

Van Houten Chocolate in Three Dishes

For this chocolate “affair”, we were served three dishes which incorporated Van Houten chocolates as a major element.

The first one that I tasted from the trays of food brought to us by the waiters was a Chicken Mole Negro. I heard chicken and I heard chocolate which are both edible to me but it was the first time I tasted chicken with chocolate. It has a spicy aftertaste which is not too strong. I felt that you need to drink water after, but obvious enough to realize that the spice was at the end of the experience.

I can honestly say that I liked it because I had two more of thereafter.

Guests had tortillas on their tables with chocolate enchiladas waiting for them. It wasn’t that popular on our table because when I left, the plate was still mostly full.

Van Houten Chocolate with Espresso Shot

And finally, for dessert, we were served a chocolate sponge cake called Chocolatini (I hope I got the spelling for that cake correctly). There were actually two variants: a dark cake and a lighter brown cake.

People prefer the lighter one and they say its mocha flavored but for me there is not much of a difference having taste buds which are not that too discerning with cakes.

Generally, I liked the Van Houten dishes being appropriate for the theme. It’s not something I am going to intensely crave for often but it the experience was light and satisfying for my chocolate craving.

There were other dessert items available such as strawberry with mango ice cream and caramel popcorn but I was already overwhelmed with the whole afternoon of chocolate indulgence. 🙂

Cocoaphilia Experience with Van Houten

“Chocolate is undoubtedly one of the world’s favourite foods. Thanks to the pioneering invention of the cocoa press by C.J. Van Houten who changed the course of chocolate making with the creation of the cocoa press, the result is the chocolate bars we know and love today” says Diana Obias, Van Houten Senior Brand Manager. “Cocoaphilia is our label for one’s passion about cocoa and all things chocolate,” she added.

Van Houten Chocolates

Van Houten Chocolate Highlight

The three Van Houten chocolate dishes were just an introduction for the highlight of the event which is a pairing of a Van Houten chocolate with a shot of espresso.

The first pair is a ristretto together with a Van Houten semi-dark chocolate and the second one is a caffe lungo together with Van Houten fruits and nuts chocolate.

To differentiate the two:  a ristretto is a very “short” shot of espresso coffee while Lungo is Italian for ‘long‘, and refers to the coffee beverage made by using an espresso machine to make an espresso (single or double dose or shot) with much more water (generally twice as much), resulting in a stretched espresso, a lungo.

So we had a short shot and a long shot of espresso. A nice play of contrasts. My new found friends from IBC 13 liked the lungo. I actually preferred the ristretto but my preference is mostly based on my liking for semi-dark chocolates.

It was a delight and I hope to have more chocolate tasting events in the future with Van Houten. Check them out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/cocoaphilia-philippines

Van Houten

Contributed by Blogger Apprentice: Ia Adam-Lim (some photos are from Cocoaphilia FB Page while source definition of ristretto and lungo are from Wikipedia)

Do you like chocolates too? Would you attend a chocolate tasting event if there’s one with Van Houten chocolates? Tell me what you think. 🙂

If you’re looking for a new chill-out place without the pretensions of being cool-and-all-that, Big Bad Wolf is the place to be at.

Big Bad Wolf in Fort Bonifacio

Effortlessly, the relaxed and homey setup of Big Bad Wolf just makes you feel at home and in the company of your favorite friends with good food. This is what I felt the first time I went there and got to meet 2 of the three owners, Neil Paras and Ponch del Rosario. 

I wasn’t really expecting to meet them since my meeting there was supposed to be with the people of Brieo Deals. Anyhow, it was a good chat. I came to know  that all three were high school buds who had a common goal of establishing a restaurant just like how they envisioned Big Bad Wolf now – cozy, good ambiance, and great food.

Speaking of great food, they serve different preparations of steak, grilled meat, pasta, light meals, and appetizers they call little plates.

Best of all, they also serve the not-so-usual preparations of dishes we know. I’m can be a little adventurous when it comes to food so I do appreciate restaurants who creatively comes up with new fares to gear away from the usual stuff which can become boring in time.

Let the photos and names sell themselves (Top photo is Santol-smoked Pork Belly with Dirty Rice). 🙂

Potato Skins with Boursin Dip (P120)- highly recommended

Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup (P230)

Fresh Tuna Wrap with Wasabi Mayo (P220)

Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken Wings (P170) - I call this the Big Bad BonChon Chicken Wolf. 🙂

Poached Egg Carbonara Pasta - very good while it's hot

Goat Cheese & Chorizo Rolls (P240)

Bacon Wrapped Middle Eastern Dates (P280) - I loved this specially if you prefer it sweet

Peppered Chuck Steak (P490)

Dorado Fillet Wrapped in Bacon (P350) - for bacon lovers

They just had a promotions deal with Brieo Deals last month, but you can get updates form their Facebook page as well.

Big Bad Wolf
G/F Fairways Tower, 5th Ave. Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
+632.822.5833

Big Bad Wolf Restaurant Interiors

Tell your closest friends of this new hideaway called Big Bad Wolf, tucked quietly at the back of Fairways Tower at the corner of 5th Avenue and McKinley in Fort Bonifacio, share some wine or beer, and enjoy the night.

Port View Restaurant

We visited Kota Kinabalu about a week ago for a travel blog-related activity. And on the first night, Sabah Tourism Board and Tourism Malaysia-Manila were kind enough to host our dinner together with some bloggers and Philippine print media including writers from Philippine Star, and Manila Standard, among others.

It was a Malaysian-seafood inspired dinner and honestly, their names were very hard to remember, not to mention that I was busy with the briefing about the matter at hand – backbacking in Kota Kiinabalu. 🙂

So allow me to simply share the photos  and basic names of the dishes we had. Enjoy!

Fried Squid (Calamares)

Port View Seafood Restaurant

Steamed Prawn

Shrimp Salad

Sabah Vegetables (close to our 'Kangkong' but not leafy - more on trunks/stems)

This is a small octopus dish (yes, you read that right)

Coconut Jelly

It was actually a quick dinner at Port View Restaurant as we headed back to Gaya Center Hotel; where related stories here.

If you get to drop by Kota Kinabalu City in Sabah Malaysia,  you can find Port View Seafood Village at Lot 18 Waterfront Esplanade, Tun Fuad Stephens Road, Kota Kinabalu. (088) 221 753.

On it’s 8th year of publishing the Philippines’ Best Restaurants Guide, premiere society magazine, The Philippine Tatler, with partner San Miguel Corporation, is once again organizing its annual Charity Week for a chosen charity.

Philippines' Best Restaurants

Philippines’ Best Restaurants Guide

This handbook is a product of months of reviews of the current 157 restaurants and finest dining places in the country. It has served as a pocket guide for foodies, gourmands, and discerning diners for the best 100 restaurants.

“Restaurants are evaluated on their cuisine, ambiance, service standards and price. The reviewers follow a standard rating procedure that encompasses the different facets of a restaurant – from the range of the menu and the wine list, as well as the competence and etiquette of the wait staff.“

The Philippines’ Best Restaurants 2011 also included new sections such as the Best lists of restaurants excelling in various categories such as the Best for Tourists, Best for Wine Lovers, Best Chinese, Best Vegetarian and Best Steaks, among others.

Philippine Tatler's Best Restaurants Guide

Seven of the country’s best chefs were also featured in “Chef Talks.” They are Juan Carlos de Terry of Terry’s Bistro, Tonyboy Escalante of Antonio’s, J Gamboa of Cirkulo, Colin Mackay of Sala, Sala Bistro, and People’s Palace. Add to that Jessie Sincioco of Chef Jessie Rockwell Club and Chef Jessie Top of the Citi, Tippi Tambunting of Masseto, and Tomo of Taka.

Philippine Tatler 10th Anniversary Issue

Charity Week

This year’s chosen beneficiary of the Charity Week is the Virlanie Foundation.

Virlanie Foundation Officials & Volunteers joined by Philippine Tatler Officers at Shang Palace

Thirty-six (36) restaurants from the Philippines’ Best Restaurants list will donate a generous portion of their proceeds from September 22-30, 2011 to Virlanie. The funds will support one of Virlanie’s projects – the Mobile Unit. It is Virlanie’s outreach program for street children living in Divisoria through a mobile classroom and good nutrition through a feeding program.

Here is a list of the 36 participating restaurants:

• Aubergine
• Azuthai
• Banana Leaf
• Cafe Ilang Ilang (Manila Hotel)
• Cav Wine Shop – Café
• Chef Jessie Rockwell Club
• Cibo
• Circles (Makati Shangri-La)
• Cru Steakhouse (Marriott Manila)
• Crystal Jade
• Escolta (The Manila Peninsula)
• Felix
• Indigo (Discovery Shores Boracay)
• Kai
• Keizo
• Kimpura
• Kirin Chinese Dining
• L’Incontro Ristorante Italiano
• Le Bistro Vert
• L’entrecote
• Lili (Hyatt Hotel and Casino)
• Lusso Gastro Bar
• Mabuhay Palace (Manila Hotel)
• Mamou
• Masseto
• Ninyo Fusion Cuisine
• Opus Restaurant and Lounge
• Palermo
• People’s Palace Thai
• Restorante Y Damaso
• Sala
• Sala Bistro
• Sugi
• Thai Patio
• The Tivoli (Mandarin Oriental Manila)
• Umu (Dusit Thani Manila)

36 Best Restaurants Charity Week List

Interestingly, I have also just published a few weeks ago about Golden ABC‘s similar advocacy which donates parts of their proceeds purchased from their clothing shop entitled Get Up: Fashion for Advocacy.

Maurice Arcache also joined us in the lunch launch @ Shang Palace

Philippine Tatler and Virlanie Foundation invite you foodies to dine with advocacy and enjoy a meal or two at any of Philippine Tatler’s Best Restaurants included in the Charity week from today until September 30, 2011. You still have five days to go dine and at the same time help the needy! 🙂

NomNom got an invitation from DOLE for a cook-off challenge last month. Although I wasn’t one of the challengers as much as I wanted to be, tasting the Dole tomato sauce-inspired dishes prepared by Chef Jeremiah de Belen Favia from then QTV11‘s Healthy Cravings and Ka-Toque Lutong Barkada, was a delight.

First in the recipe set was the Cherry Tomato and Eggplant Ragu Penne. It was a simple penne pasta dish but made special with the lycopene-rich thick sauce of Dole tomato sauce. This was the same dish prepared on the spot for demo by Chef Jeremy.

Cherry Tomato and Eggplant Ragu Penne

This was followed by the Chili Con Mushroom Over Herbed Baked Potato.

Chili Con Mushroom Over Herbed Baked Potato

But what I liked best was the Dory Braised in Dole Tomato Sauce. I usually like saucy dishes such as these. The fish meat got the right texture and the flavor was enhanced further by the sauce.

Dory Braised in Dole Tomato Sauce

“Dole advocated healthy living through our products and activities. For this event, we like to highlight that being healthy should be part of our love for food, and this event highlights that it is easy to be healthy,” adds Poch Zenarosa – Dole Philippines’ Packaged Foods Division Product Manager.

Chef Jeremy in the Dole Cook-Off

The Challengers in the MIHCA Kitchen

MICAH Waltermart Makati

The Dole Cook-Off Challenge was held at the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA) in Waltermart Makati.